Astronauts told to prepare to evacuate International Space Station after air leak reported

They've been told to take shelter.

The astronauts have also been told by NASA to take shelter as the leaks continue to worsen in the Russian segment of the spacecraft.

It is being reported that while the astronauts are taking shelter, a Russian cosmonaut is attempting to fix the leak.

NASA released a statement about the ongoing incident.

NASA Press Security Bethany Stevens said: "The Zvezda service module transfer tunnel, known as PrK, has suffered from cracks and leaks for some time, and has been mitigated by Roscosmos as much as possible to date.

"The cracks have always been a concern that NASA watches very closely. NASA and Roscosmos have been working to determine the root cause of the cracks, and Roscosmos manages the issue through operational mitigation measures and periodic partial-repair efforts.



"Following new leaks, Roscosmos has elected to proceed with a more extensive repair operation on Friday, June 5.

"Out of an abundance of caution, NASA has directed all four of the agency's SpaceX Crew-12 members and NASA astronaut Chris Williams to assume an elevated safety posture in the Dragon spacecraft while the repair is underway.



"We continue to work with our Russian counterparts, along with the rest of the international community that supports the space station, to arrive at a more permanent resolution."

What is an air leak in space?

An air leak in space is not a good thing, hence why NASA has told astronauts to prepare for evacuation if the situation worsens.

Similar to a tyre on earth, the ISS is pressurised to a breathable Earth-like atmosphere since space is a vacuum.

A leak would mean the air being pressurised inside the spacecraft is escaping into the vaccuum of a space, not good at all for those on board.

Astronaut vs Cosmonaut

The terms astronauts and cosmonaut mean the same thing, and are simply a result of the space race.

Astronaut is simply the term the west uses for people trained for spaceflight while cosmonaut is simply for a Russian trained for spaceflight.

This makes Neil Armstrong an astronaut and Yuri Gagarin a cosmonaut.

Why are there Russians on the ISS?

The ISS is one of the few places in the current political climate where the West cooperate so closely with the Russians.

Since the invasion of Ukraine, Russia have been shunned on the international stage with trade and travel with the country reduced massively.

However, in space Russians have been ever present alongside Americans and the rest of the world.

This is because the ISS is a joined project between NASA and the Russian space agency (Roscosmos) and it needs personnel from both to function.

The orbital outpost was designed to be a highly integrated, interdependent system that requires both Roscosmos and NASA to function.

Russia operates the propulsion systems and thrusters required to keep the ISS in orbit and perform debris-avoidance manoeuvres.

Conversely, the U.S. segment provides the vast majority of the station's electrical power and communications.

How do astronauts evacuate the ISS?

There isn't an 'escape pod' onboard for example, but rather there is always a ship docked to the ISS.

This can be used to evacuate at fast notice.

Typically this is a Russian Soyuz spacecraft or a SpaceX Crew Dragon.

These stay docked for months and are kept ready for emergency use.